Lubbock chief of pathology identified as homicide victim

Neighbors embrace as Lubbock police investigate at the scene of a homicide in the 4600 block of 21st Street in Lubbock. Authorities confirmed Joseph Sonnier III, Covenant Medical Center's chief of pathology, was the victim.

Dr. Joseph Sonnier III, chief pathologist for Covenant Health System in Lubbock, was confirmed as a homicide victim Wednesday afternoon by Lubbock police detectives at Sonnier’s home, where he was found.

Sgt. Jonathan Stewart said officers were responding to a check welfare call around 1:50 p.m. at 4603 21st St. when a landscaper and a maid found Sonnier’s lifeless body inside the residence.

An emergency communication issued by the police department through email and Facebook stated landscapers found a broken window and a shooting victim in the house.

Police would not elaborate on what type of firearm was used in the homicide or if it had been found at the scene by investigators.

Neighbors gathered around the edges of the yard Wednesday as police entered and left the house.

A neighbor said one of the houses across the street from Sonnier’s has been broken into three times in recent months, and she has seen suspicious vehicles driving in the area, watching the houses.

Missy Bartlett, Sonnier’s younger sister and a resident of Shreveport, La., said Thursday her family is close-knit and will work to pick up the pieces.

“After our father died 13 years ago, Joseph became the patriarch of our family,” Bartlett said. “He really held all of us together.”

Sonnier is survived by his sons, Dallas, 32, and James, 30, and by his adoptive son, Phillip Prestwood, 31.

Dr. Robert Salem, chief medical officer of Covenant Health System, held back tears Thursday, describing Sonnier as a friend and praising him as a physician.

Sonnier joined Covenant’s staff in 2006 and made a positive impression on everyone who came into contact with him, Salem said.

Sonnier spent Christmas at Salem’s house on three occasions, and they attended Texas Tech Red Raiders football games together. He was the man to get advice from when traveling to Louisiana, Salem said.

Sonnier was born in Rapid City, N.D., but graduated from Louisiana State University in Shreveport, where several of his relatives reside.

Bartlett said the family plans to take Sonnier’s body back to Shreveport and put him to rest there.

She gave no specific details of when the memorial service and funeral would be held.

“The miles may have kept us apart, but we constantly reached out to each other,” Bartlett said.

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